Active/Electronic humidification options and opinions

[.jacob]

It looks like I'm going to go the active humidification route for my humidor. The power pull from the wifi hygrometer is too much for a battery so since I'm going to have to wire that, I figured I might as well do it right and put an electronic humidifier in and draw power from it for the hygro.

My humidor is bit under 4 cu feet. Of the options out there, what do you recommend?

I thought the small hydra looked nice: http://www.cigarmony.com/hydraelectrictronichumidifier-small.aspx
Though I'm not sure how much replacement cartridges are and how much they cost.

Thanks.

 

[jjon90]

I have this one and it works real well! The cartridge is refillable (florist foam) and will last awhile. You can get the unit much cheaper on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130369495535
I got mine from the above with no problems! The seller is an AUTHORIZED DEALER for all Hydra products with 100% (4269) positive feedback.

 

[.jacob]

Can you post pictures of the power cord/ribbon you're using to power the guy? I assume it uses an external power supply? Is the DC out socket separate from the fan sockets?

Thanks!

 

[RonC]

the small hydra is designed for a desktop. while it might work, question is for how long considering that you are overworking the small Hydra. There is a larger Hydra available.
considering he is a site sponser, Dave from Heartfelt would be a better vendor than a stranger from Ebay.

 

[.jacob]

Hi Ron,

The small is designed for humidors up to 8 cubic feet, no? That should be plenty for my 15" x 17" x 25" cabinet, right?

http://heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=Electronic+Humidification
http://www.cigarmony.com/hydraelectrictronichumidifier-small.aspx

I'll be using whatever humidifer with 1 lbs of 65% beads.
Thanks,
Jacob

 

[jjon90]

Yes, when I get home.

Can you post pictures of the power cord/ribbon you're using to power the guy? I assume it uses an external power supply? Is the DC out socket separate from the fan sockets?

Thanks!

 

[jjon90]

He may match the price, a good guy!

the small hydra is designed for a desktop. while it might work, question is for how long considering that you are overworking the small Hydra. There is a larger Hydra available.
considering he is a site sponser, Dave from Heartfelt would be a better vendor than a stranger from Ebay.

 

[RonC]

years ago, when Cigar Oasis was introduced, it was advertised as being designed for a large 1 cu ft desktop humidor. when used in a decent 1 cu ft desktop, it would turn on for just a few seconds at a time, and if you humidor sealed well, it might be hours before it turned on again.

years go by, and the advertising claims now say that these Cigar Oasis (and Hydra) are good for cabinets. Meanwhile, nothing has changed about the design. So now, instead of running for seconds every few hours, they are running for many minutes, and turning on more often.

will they work? yes. But they will be overworked, and not last as long as originally intended.

Thats why they made the big Hydras and Cigar Oasis. also remember that the big oasis and hydra are a knockoff of the Accumonitor. The output of the Hydra and Oasis dont even come close to an Accumonitor. so they will run much longer than an accumonitor would.

Hi Ron,

The small is designed for humidors up to 8 cubic feet, no? That should be plenty for my 15" x 17" x 25" cabinet, right?

http://heartfeltindustries.com/products.asp?cat=Electronic+Humidification
http://www.cigarmony.com/hydraelectrictronichumidifier-small.aspx

I'll be using whatever humidifer with 1 lbs of 65% beads.
Thanks,
Jacob

 

[.jacob]

Hmm. Seems like my humidor size is in a funny spot. It's too big for the desktop options and and small that the more serious humidification alternatives are overkill.

Is the Accumonitor EZ the small model you offer? What are it's dimensions? Do you have any more photos of the wiring, and is the power supply internal or external? I need a 5v feed to power my wifi hygro and I'd like to put a power connector in the floor of the humidor.

 

[RonC]

Hmm. Seems like my humidor size is in a funny spot. It's too big for the desktop options and and small that the more serious humidification alternatives are overkill.

Is the Accumonitor EZ the small model you offer? What are it's dimensions? Do you have any more photos of the wiring, and is the power supply internal or external? I need a 5v feed to power my wifi hygro and I'd like to put a power connector in the floor of the humidor.

considering that you are using beads too, you should be abe to get away with the small hydra. if your cabinet seals well, you should have no trouble. If the Hydra does not perform well, then call me about an accumonitor

 

[Virgeinadeaux]

It looks like I'm going to go the active humidification route for my humidor. The power pull from the wifi hygrometer is too much for a battery so since I'm going to have to wire that, I figured I might as well do it right and put an electronic humidifier in and draw power from it for the hygro.

My humidor is bit under 4 cu feet. Of the options out there, what do you recommend?

I thought the small hydra looked nice: http://www.cigarmony.com/hydraelectrictronichumidifier-small.aspx
Though I'm not sure how much replacement cartridges are and how much they cost.

Thanks.

I am 61 years old and I can still remember what my father told me years ago “You get what you pay for son”. Cigars are an investment as well as a pleaser, so why be cheap on equipment that keeps them in top or near top condition. Look at the price of cigars 10 years ago; now compare that price to the prices of today. Taking in the deference in the price of cigars in that 10 years and look at what they can be 10 years from now.

Years ago cigars were cheap enough to get what you need that day; you had no need for a humidor. Today almost everyone has a humidor, and why is that? Say you smoke one cigar a day and you pay $7.50 for that cigar. Well you could save money by buying a box of those cigars at a time. Now the box of cigars is at your house now you have saved some money right. Well were you put them? At the cigar shop they were in a humidor that was providing the proper environment. Now at your house they are exposed to the very environment that the humidor was protecting them from. How long will those cigars hold their taste and humidity? How long will those premium cigar stay premium?

Saving money on cigars and scrimping on the equipment to give them the proper environment, does not make $cent$ to me.

 

[Virgeinadeaux]

considering that you are using beads too, you should be abe to get away with the small hydra. if your cabinet seals well, you should have no trouble. If the Hydra does not perform well, then call me about an accumonitor

Heed what RonC says he knows.

 

[.jacob]

I am 61 years old and I can still remember what my father told me years ago “You get what you pay for son”. Cigars are an investment as well as a pleaser, so why be cheap on equipment that keeps them in top or near top condition. Look at the price of cigars 10 years ago; now compare that price to the prices of today. Taking in the deference in the price of cigars in that 10 years and look at what they can be 10 years from now.

Years ago cigars were cheap enough to get what you need that day; you had no need for a humidor. Today almost everyone has a humidor, and why is that? Say you smoke one cigar a day and you pay $7.50 for that cigar. Well you could save money by buying a box of those cigars at a time. Now the box of cigars is at your house now you have saved some money right. Well were you put them? At the cigar shop they were in a humidor that was providing the proper environment. Now at your house they are exposed to the very environment that the humidor was protecting them from. How long will those cigars hold their taste and humidity? How long will those premium cigar stay premium?

Saving money on cigars and scrimping on the equipment to give them the proper environment, does not make $cent$ to me.

Que?

10char

 

[Bob Staebell]

jacob,
ron is correct re the original CigarOasis being designed for desk top humidors. The small hydra is the equivalent. There is also the CigarOasis Plus that is designed for small cabinets in the 3-5 cubic foot range that has an entirely different air flow design from the original desk top model. Output is 4-6X the desk top model & will nicely handle your size humidor.

Cigar Oasis does advertise the Plus as being good up to 8 cuft, which I disagree with. I designed it for them & found in my testing that it was lacking much above 5 cuft unless augemented with a couple of pounds of beads.

Your humidor is small enough that beads alone would probably keep up just, but an active system with a resevoir & fan will be more uniform & require less maintenance.

Bob Staebell

 

[.jacob]

That's true, but any of the units shouldn't be too hard to hack and draw DC from.

Bob - In researching humidifiers I saw a post you made on this topic at the CA forums and was hoping you'd chime in here Per your recommendation, I'll be going with the Cigar Oasis XL Plus.

Thanks all for the great input.

 

[Bob Staebell]

The CO Plus usually comes with a 12V 200mA power supply. You might want to verify how much current draw you have on your arduino device to make certain you don't exceed the capacity of the power supply. If it draws too much-- any larger 12V supply with a 2.5/1.5mm barrel connector will work.

BTW--very neat build--you really are only a step away from having a full controller for temp & RH.

 

[.jacob]

Thank you, Bob!

You are correct. I will see how satisfied I am with the CO's ability to monitor and control humidity. If it's subpar and I'm feeling ambitious/bored It's likely that I'll rip it apart, throw in a relay and have the arduino run the show. :stretchgr

 

[tmoney2007]

You could probably fashion something like an accumonitor pretty easily with that thing too.

 

[.jacob]

It could definitely serve as the brains. What exactly does the accumonitor comprise of?

 

[tmoney2007]

From what I can tell, its just a jar with some holes in the side, a wick, and a fan to draw air over the wick. The Accumonitor controller turns the fans on and off.